Truck for handling railway-rails



(No Model.)

T. L. FLANAGAN. TRUCK FOR HANDLING RAILWAY RAILS, No. 603,947.

Patented May10,1898.

li ayeizioz" jwmwlj'la lINiTnn STATES PATENT Trice.

THOMAS L. FLANAGAN, OF VIOKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI.

TRUCK FOR HANDLING RAILWAY-RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 603,947, dated May 10, 1898.

Application filed August 9, 1897.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS L. FLANAGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vicksburg, in the county of Warren and State of Mississippi, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hand-Trucks for the Carriage of Railway-Rails and other Similar Articles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to hand-trucks for the carriage of railway-rails and other similar articles. It is my purpose to provide a handtruck of this character especially adapted to carry T-rails of considerable length from place to place with ease and despatch, the construction of the truck being such that the rail can be grasped while lying upon the ground, the truck-jaws being securely clamped to maintain their hold and prevent all possible danger of the rail escaping from them, and the truck can be rapidly and easily propelled to any point, the whole operation being capable of performance, when necessary, by one person.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a truck for carrying railway-rails and similar articles, having such construction that the rail maybe grasped transversely by the jaws of the truck, or when the space is too narrow to permit the rail being carried in this position it may be held by the peculiarlyshaped jaws of the trucks with its length in line with the length of the trucks, whereby rails or similar articles of considerable length and weight can easily and rapidly be handled, picked up, carried, and laid down in a space but little wider than the truck.

My invention also comprises other novel and valuable features, which will be clearly understood from the description.

To enable others to clearly understand and to make and use my said invention, I will now proceed to explain the same, reference being had for this purpose to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hand-trucl in which my invention is incorporated. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation taken at the forward end of the truck.

The reference-numeral 1 in said drawings '6, which may be either wood or metal. handle meets the carrying-bar 6 at an angle indicates the truck-wheel, which is of the or- $erial No. 647,595. (No model.)

dinary form of a caster-wheel, its bracketframe 2 being provided with a swivel-bolt 3. This bolt passes up through loose washers 4 and 5, which surround the bolt and lie above and below a carrying-bar 6. The tread of the wheel 1 is preferably about two inches wide, but I may increase or decrease this dimension as circumstances require. The several parts of the truck are usually constructed of iron or other suitable metal, save the handle and at a point a little distance in rear of the swivel-bolt 3. From this point said handle extends rearward and upward until it is at a suitable height from the ground for the hands of the operator, when it terminates, a transverse handle-bar 7 being inserted in a loop or ferrule 8 upon the end of said handle.

The carrying-bar 6 will, when the truck is in motion, be horizontal, or nearly so, as seen in Fig. 1. At the forward end the upper surface is beveled off, as shown at 9, so as to lie at a slight inclination to the carrying-bar. Upon this surface is mounted a block 10, which supports a pin or pivot 10 the latter forming the fulcrum-support of a jaw-lever 12. This lever extends rearward far enough to give it a suitable reach or acting distance, and its extremity is coupled to an actuating lever 13 by a toggle-link 14E. The fulcrum of the second lever is a bolt or pin which lies in the ends of two clips 15, which surround the handle 6 and are clamped thereon by bolts 16, whereby the fulcrum may have a slight adjustment, if necessary, toward and from the fulcrum 10 of the other lever. The lever 13 is the one actuated by the operator, and it is held,when the lever 12 hasproperly grasped the rail or other article, by a loop 17, one end of which is held in a staple 18, inserted in the lower face of the handle 6 It is free to turn in said staple, however, in order to pass over or be thrown off the end of the second lever 13.

The forward end of the jaw-lever 12 is formed into or provided with a jaw 19 of such Said size and form that it will properly inclose I00 and securely grasp the head of a T-rail 20, as shown in dotted lines in the drawings. The

two jaws acting in unison can grasp the rail upon opposite sides of its head, their ends lying against or very close to the web of the rail 20.

In use the truck can be tipped by raising the handle, so as to bring the jaws 19 and 21 downto the rail, so they can grasp it as it lies upon the ground or on other rails or sup ports. The actuating-lever 13 is then operated to cause said jaws to clamp the rail-head with suitable force, and the loop 17 is brought over the end of the actuating-lever in order that said jaws may maintain their grasp. The truck is then brought back to normal position and rolled to any point where the rail is to be placed.

Two trucks can be and preferably are used upon rails of the usual length, one truck being at or near each end. If necessary, however, a single truck at the middle of the rail can be made to accomplish the same purpose.

The trucks can be pushed with the wheels in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, or they can be drawn with the wheels lying as shown in dotted lines in said figure.

In confined or narrow spaces where rails can only be carried lengthwise the jaws of the trucks must so grasp the ends of the rails that the handles and carrying-bars will be in line with the rail. To accomplish this, I provide the lower jaw 21 with a central vertical opening or slot 22 of such width as to admit the web of the T-rail. By this construction the head of the rail can be grasped between the jaws 19 and 21, while the rail-web will lie in the slot 22, and the foot of said rail will be below the jaw 21. In this manner the trucks will be in line with the rail, and the latter can be moved any distance in spaces but little wider than the truck.

In construction the rear end of the carrying-bar may be reduced to such size as to fit in an iron tube having a diameter of one inch or thereabout, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1. The fulcrum-block 10 may be screwed into the carrying-bar 6; but in all these. details it is evident that considerable variations in construction may be adopted without degle-link to the end of the jaw-lever and its other end held by a loop on the handle, sub-' stantially as described.

2. A hand-truck having a carrying-bar, a single caster-wheel swiveled thereon, a jawlever having a fulcrum on said bar, its forward end provided with a jaw adapted to clamp the head of a T-rail between it and a like jaw on the extremity of the beveled forward end of said bar, an actuating lever coupled to the rear end of the jaw-lever and a loop pivoted on the handle to lock the operating-lever, substantially as described.

3. A hand-truck having jaws formed to grasp the head of a T-rail transversely, one of said jaws having a vertical slot to admit the web of the rail and clamp the end of the same in line with the truck, substantially as described.

4:. The combination with a hand-truck of a fixed jaw and a lever having a jaw on its forward end, said jaws being adapted to grasp the sides of the head of a T-rail the fixed jaw having a central vertical slot or opening to admit the web of the rail and enable the jaws to grasp the head when the rail is in line with the trucks, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOMAS L. FLANAGAN. Witnesses:

M. J. DONOVAN, FRANK Bnnronn. 

